Brickbat: It Will Be Vacant Soon Enough

Last year, New York City Mayor Eric Adams pledged to use $1 million in federal funds to transform vacant newsstands into places where bicycle delivery riders can rest, repair their bikes and recharge e-bikes. But one of the first newsstands targeted for the program is still currently in use. Ullah and Mostack Bhuiyan have owned and operated the Navila Newsstand in the Bronx since 2008. But the city Parks Department, which owns the site, said the duo's lease will expire at the end of March, and the lease will not be put back out to bid. "The mayor's office contacted me and said there was an empty, underused newsstand they wanted to use," said Rafael Moure-Punnett, district manager for Bronx Community Board 6. "I said, 'But it's not vacant!'  It seems like they had this mission from the beginning, and they weren't going to let the facts get in the way."